Dr. Murray Feingold: Do you have destination amnesia?

Dr. Murray Feingold

Tuesday

Sep 28, 2010 at 12:01 AMSep 28, 2010 at 12:48 AM

You may be afflicted with a malady called destination amnesia and not even know it. Destination amnesia is defined as incorrectly believing that you gave or shared information with one person, when in fact, you really told another person.

You may be afflicted with a malady called destination amnesia and not even know it.

Here is an example of what happens to people who have destination amnesia: You tell your daughter that you will be downtown shopping until 4 o'clock. You return home and your husband is upset because he had no idea where you have been and was worried about your safety.

You inform him, very dogmatically, that you told him where you were going.

But you did not. You told your daughter.

Destination amnesia is defined as incorrectly believing that you gave or shared information with one person, when in fact, you really told another person.

This condition affects people of all ages, but it occurs more frequently as one gets older. And although it sounds as if it is a benign condition, it can be very disruptive to everyday living. It results in unnecessary worry and many arguments.

One reason for this condition is that people, especially as they get older, have a decreased ability to focus. They use up most of their attention resources in just providing the information.

As a result, they don't always concentrate as much on who the person is that they are sharing the information with.

There are other reasons including aging of the brain. A study was recently done on destination amnesia. It reaffirmed that it is age-related.

Destination memory accuracy in older adults was 21 percent worse than in the younger group that was tested.

The results also showed even though the person was wrong, they felt strongly and were very confident - in fact, dogmatic - that they were not wrong.

This can result in a serious disagreement between the two people involved.

Such disagreements can occur with anyone.

However, if destination amnesia becomes a more common occurrence, it should be discussed with the individual's physician to make certain it is not due to a decline in the brain's ability to properly function.

Massachusetts-based Dr. Murray Feingold is the physician in chief of The Feingold Center for Children, medical editor of WBZ-TV and WBZ radio, and president of the Genesis Fund. The Genesis Fund is a nonprofit organization that funds the care of children born with birth defects, mental retardation and genetic diseases.

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